York County was established in 1749 from Lancaster County, and in 1800 Adams County was founded from York County. One must consider these dates when looking for the records. These abstracts contain the names of persons mentioned in wills: decedents, heirs, trustees, guardians, witnesses, executors, debtors and relatives. They also provide references to property being devised and dates the wills were written and proved. These wills were abstracted under the auspices of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s. Originally the abstracts were arranged in alphabetical order. In this version the entries have been re-arranged in chronological order.

Index to decedents leaving wills, includes name of decedent, year of record, and volume and page number of will.